The economic impact of the California State University is unparalleled. The CSU provides jobs, prepares the future workforce, and creates innovative products and services for the state that will build and sustain its economy. Moreover, the research undertaken by the CSU's faculty and staff is solving critical problems for California. The CSU is central to California's economy, and directly or indirectly impacts everyone in the state. Learn more.

Public Service

The California State University (CSU) trains the majority of California's leaders and policymakers. Approximately 64 percent of Californians with master's degrees in public administration studied at the CSU, as well as 35 percent of those with bachelor's degrees. In addition, 49 percent of Californians with bachelor's degrees in city, urban, community, and regional planning studied at the CSU.

CSU graduates impact state and federal policy through their leadership in government and nonprofit organizations. For example, Cal Poly alumna Hilda L. Solis served as U.S. Secretary of Labor and was a member of the President's Cabinet, and Sheryl Chalupa, who serves as president and CEO of Goodwill Industries of South Central California, received her bachelor's and master's degrees from CSU Bakersfield.

Did you know:

CSU Sacramento’s Center for California Studies is one of California’s only multidisciplinary, university-based institutes addressing California policy issues. The center administers the Capital Fellows Program internship, which has been named one of the top 10 internships in the nation and numbers state and federal legislators among its alumni.

San Francisco State University trains many of the state’s future lawyers and lawmakers, ranking among the top 20 undergraduate schools whose alumni go on to be admitted to the State Bar. In fact, many attorneys who have received their undergraduate degrees from San Francisco State have advanced to holding public office.